Terrence Kelly

December 08, 2000

Terrence Kelly, 56, a star athlete when he was at Loyola Academy and certified public accountant, died of leukemia Wednesday, Dec. 6, in his Northbrook home. Mr. Kelly won an academic scholarship to Loyola Academy in Wilmette after graduating from St. Gertrude Grammar School in Chicago in 1958. In high school, he was the starting point guard on the Loyola lightweight team that won the city championship in 1961. One of his teammates was Cook County State's Atty. Richard Devine. "Terry was the quarterback on that team," recalled Devine. "Quick and smart, Terry might have been inch for inch the best athlete on a very talented team." His former coach, Gene Sullivan, remembers Mr. Kelly as a quiet leader on that championship team that beat St. Rita for the title at DePaul's Alumni Hall. "He was a special kid," said Sullivan. "He was only a junior on that mostly senior team, but he was a key to our success in directing our offense and playing tenacious defense." Upon graduation from Loyola in 1962, Mr. Kelly went to Loyola University of New Orleans and then to Northern Illinois University. He later transferred to and graduated from Loyola University Chicago, where he also earned an MBA. After graduation from college, Mr. Kelly passed the CPA exam. For more than 20 years and until he was diagnosed with leukemia, Mr. Kelly worked as an accountant for Altair Corp., based in Lincolnshire. Survivors include his wife, Mary Jo; a son, Matthew; a daughter, Mary Beth; his mother, Dorothy; and two sisters, Marilyn Fleming and Rosemary West. Services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday in Kelley & Spaulding Funeral Home, 1787 Deerfield Rd., Highland Park.